NHS fat cats enjoy £8m payoff
Fat cat health bosses were paid off with £8million of taxpayers’ cash during an NHS shake-up in a single county, it was revealed yesterday.
The vast sum – branded a “disgraceful waste of money” – could have paid for 1,091 heart bypasses.
About 120 senior managers took the payoffs when seven primary care trusts in Hampshire were merged into one. One manager was paid £130,000 to leave.
Hampshire Primary Care Trust was forced to reveal the figures after a request under the Freedom of Information Act.
Six chief executives and directors, 24 heads of service, 59 managers and 31 administrators left as a result of the reorganisation. This has cost £8.34million over the past two years.
Romsey’s Lib Dem MP Sandra Gidley said last night: “These sums are completely over the top. This money could have been spent on improving patient care.”
Hampshire Primary Care Trust officials said cutting the jobs meant lower management costs in the long run.